zkeller

iTrader: (47)

And after having one stolen a couple of years ago and losing upwards of 10 grand, it is not that funny, hehehe.

thanks for the help guys. Jim, I called Haggety, no luck.

They did say that they plan in the real near future to have a "Tuner" class for people like us who have double plus in there car than what it is worth on paper.

cosmicbang

If you have several other collector vehicles insured with them, it might make a difference. Unfortunately that may not help you, but thought I would mention it anyway. Be sure to read any policy very carefully, especially if it is not from one of the usual specialty companies.

zkeller

iTrader: (47)

Agreed. There was one that I was looking at. Checked the fine print, and it would not cover the car unless is was parked in a locked and alarmed garage every night.

My FD was stolen at a bodyshop, so in that case, it would not have been covered.

Now my FD sits in a lock, alarmed, cameras, barred window garage with the door openers turned off at night, and the car has a hidden fuel pump switch.

Once you have the love of your life stolen, you will do the same

macdaddy

In general, what you want is insurance on either a "stated" or "appraised" value for your car. Which term is used and how much documentation you need will depend on the state and the insurance company. Some of the usual auto insurance companies will do this in some states - in others you have to go to specialty companies. You absolutely have to read through all that fine print legalese and make sure you understand it and are getting what you think you're getting. You can probably do this on your own, but a decent insurance agent can make this a lot easier, and if you have other coverage with that agent (home, auto, etc.), it may help with discounts, or even finding someone who will cover you at all.

cosmicbang

The fine print is EXTREMELY important. If in doubt, have your attorney look at the policy. Simply reading the words"stated value or "stated amount" in a policy is not sufficient. Here is an interesting article from another car club:
http://www.bricklin.org/TechCentral/TCCar_Insurance.htm

Larz

Question: if someone else plows your car, are they under legal obligation to reimburse you for aftermarket parts? I think as rare as our cars are, special considerations should be taken, also. I will never find a low mileage FD for the blue book value. It was a miracle finding the one that I have now.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

If this was www.CamryClub.com then I would agree with you. But it's not, and you're waaaaay out there on every point you make.

How many FDs are there left on the roads of the U.S.? Less than 10,000 would be my guess. This isn't Japan. The car has not been sold here for almost 10 years. I see more Ferraris on the road than FDs. This is where the 'rare' comes from.

Add to that many many years and tens of thousands of dollars in modifications and installation blood, sweat and tears, and perhaps you can see where many of us are coming from.

And as someone who owns a CRX and an FD, I will just say that I think you are way off base there as well.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but it seems you view your FD as 'just transportation,' which definitely puts you into the vast minority of people on this forum.

Oh, and Jim, that was a great post. You are definitely a valued member of the forum in my book

adam c

iTrader: (2)

They are obligated to pay for your damages. That means fixing your car to the same condition as before the accident, or paying the full cost to replace it. In the case of a modified FD, you will have to present evidence to support a higher payment due to aftermarket parts.

An insurance company is only obligated to pay up to the limit of the policy. In Ca., state law allows people to buy policies with property damage coverage as low as $5000. If a guy with this coverage totals your FD, the insurance co. will give you 5K, and you will have to try to collect the rest on your own. In most cases, you won't be able to collect.

Larz

So if I'm in a Ferrari, and a guy slams into me with his POS, I could be assed out? Or is my insurance obligated to make up the cost or wring it out of the other company?

cosmicbang

"Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage" might cover losses in that case. Depending on your policy it might mean your insurance covers the difference and then attempts to collect from the other party through civil action. But read the fine print to be sure.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

If you have collision coverage, your company will pay to fix your car. They will try to collect from the other guy and/or his insurance co. for reimbursement. This is called subrogation.

If you are driving a Ferrari, and don't have collision coverage, you are at great risk. Same thing with an FD, or any expensive car. So, yes you could be "assed out" without collision coverage.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

Uninsured motorist coverages for property damage (UMPD) typically have low limits, and won't pay the full cost to repair an expensive car. In Ca. statutory UMPD coverage is only $3,500. Underinsured motorist coverages generally refer to bodily injury, so that won't fix your car.

cosmicbang

It varies by state. In Virginia, the statutory limit for uninsured motorist property damage is not less than $25,000, and shall "...equal but not exceed the limits of the liability insurance provided by the policy..." (Code of Virginia § 38.2-2206) My policies have an endorsement titled "Uninsured Motorists coverage - Virginia." The endorsement amends the policy and includes property damage as well as bodily injury resulting from uninsured or underinsured motorists.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

Uninsured motorist property damge coverage has a minumum of $20K in Virginia.

http://www.autoinsurancelaw.com/virg...rance-law.html

If you carry collision coverage, UMPD does not apply. UM collision deductible waiver would be the coverage that would be applicable.

badinfluencemp

if you total it buy it back and gut it then sell it for parts i dont know anyone who has an fd and isnt looking for a part every few months but the best thing i can tell you is DONT WRECK IT...but thats a gimme

cosmicbang

Correct, I should have said $20,000, and equal to but not exceeding the limits of the liability insurance provided by the policy. (Don't most policies have property damage liability limits higher than $20,00?) The actual statute can be found here:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+38.2-2206\

I'm looking at my policy and not sure what you mean by "UM collision deductible waiver" vs. "UM property damage." It is all lumped together in the UM section. If you mean the collision coverage is applied first, that is my understanding. The Uninsured Motorist section's Limits of Liability paragraph says:This got me to wondering about deductibles. The "Part D" (damage to your auto -- collision/other than collision) has exclusions and limits of liability different from those in the UM section. The exclusions in the UM endorsement say there is a $200 deductible for hit and run (as allowed by § 38.2-2206), otherwise no deductible. A collision deductible could be $0, or higher or lower than $200. So if I get hit by an UM and have $0 collision deductible do I have to pay anything? (Hopefully not.) If someone with $500 collision deductible gets hit by an UM do they pay a $500 deductible or a $200 deductible? If they pay $500 they would have been better off without having collision and just using the UM coverage! Weird. But that wouldn't justify not having "collision" coverage, and hopefully everyone has it.

Thanks.

the_glass_man

iTrader: (2)

Most companies only do bluebook or cost new minus depreciation. You've got to be careful because lots of insurance companies these days will drop you or not take you on if they find out your car has certain modifications, including many of the ones that we all have. You could try a place like American Collectors Insurance www.americancollectorsins.com. You may also want to look into have your vehicle appraised.

the_glass_man

iTrader: (2)

You're going to want to double check with your insurance company. UM/UIM coverage varies from state to state. But if you have a $0 deductible and you are hit by and uninsured motorist then you don't have to pay anything out of pocket. Don't worry the insurance company will see that they make it back later depending on which state you live. In some states even not at fault accidents can be used for raiting/tiering purposes, I don't think VA is one of them though.

rousu

My Rx was totaled by an uninsured driver in an uninsured car.
My insurance paid off under the uninsured motorist provisions.
But they (Allied) tried to rip me off in several ways.
1. They appraised the car by a "market value" that represented beater prices with not even an allowance for low mileage
2. They tried to reduce the value because it had a manual transmittion instead of an automatic.
3. They tried to charge me a bogus high price to buy back the salvage
4. They tried to push things to an arbitration panel dominated by insurance estimators
5. Allied refused to compensate for diminished value. Diminished value refers mostly to the fact that even if a car is repaired well, the next buyer would not be willing to pay as much for it because of it's history of being totaled and repaired. Some state laws require insurance companies to pay for this legitimate loss but the insurance companies fight it.
6. The drug out the compensation process for about 6 months, finally increasing their offer a few thousand, that was still a few thousand short of what the car was worth.

Check out your insurance company and policy, and be ready to fight if there is a claim.

adam c

iTrader: (2)

Policy jackets include descriptions of all coverages that a company offers. You may not have everything thing they offer. Typically, if you carry collision coverage, you will have UM collision deductible waiver (UMCDW). If an uninsured driver is at fault, your company waives the deductible, and you pay nothing. If you do not have collision coverage, and carry UMPD, it looks like you would have up to $20K with a $200 deductible. You cannot have both coverages on the same car.

cosmicbang

Ok thanks for clearing that up. I found the UMCDW in my "regular" insurance policy, but not in the collector. It is full coverage so I'll ask them when the policy comes up.
Good luck with the "Diminished value." It looks like most states now allow policies to explicitly exclude "diminished value." I thought there was only one or 2 states (Georgia, ?) that mandated the insurance companies cover it? You could always sue the person that hit you, or maybe try deduct the DV loss on your taxes (n.b.: I am not a tax advisor).